


1 a.m.

by chidorinnn



Category: Persona 4, Persona Series
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-28
Updated: 2018-12-28
Packaged: 2019-09-29 10:09:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17201525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chidorinnn/pseuds/chidorinnn
Summary: in which Nanako and Dojima are both in the hospital, and Souji is not handling it well





	1 a.m.

**Author's Note:**

> for a tumblr prompt, "things you said at 1 a.m."

Yosuke wakes to a hand vaguely petting his face and a sleepy mumble of "Yosuke, phone." It's times like these that he's grateful for Teddie's company because sure enough, there's the sound of something buzzing on his desk — not so loud that it has him immediately awake and alert, but just annoying enough that he can't bring himself to put off whatever it is for tomorrow.

He'd kept his phone on his desk as a means of actually waking up in the morning and not just shutting off his alarm before rolling over and going back to sleep. At that moment, 1 A.M. Yosuke hates 9 P.M. Yosuke for coming up with such a stupid system. Muttering a few expletives under his breath that he can only hope Teddie won't repeat to his parents in the morning, he drags his feet to the phone that's still buzzing incessantly on his desk. "Hello?" he croaks.

"Yosuke? I... I'm so sorry, but I..."

Souji's voice is hardly a whisper on the other line, and Yosuke runs a hand down his face, shame washing over him abruptly. "No worries, man," he replies softly, leaving his room before Teddie can butt into the conversation and quietly shutting the door behind him. "What's up?"

He already knows what Souji will not answer: that Nanako is still in the TV, that Dojima-san is still in the hospital, that the house is too empty and too quiet without them. "Nothing," says Souji, breathlessly. "I mean—I shouldn't be—I'm  _sorry_ —"

"Hey, hey," Yosuke says as gently as he can manage. "It's all right. I'm here." Souji makes a high-pitched, shuddering noise that sounds suspiciously like a sob. "Hey, did you catch the special they were playing last night? That historical one, with that old war general..." Yosuke already knows the answer, but is relieved all the same when Souji gives him a solid, albeit slightly shaky "No" in response. "I recorded it, so..."

—and this is the part that's tricky, because Yosuke has never been good at this sort of thing, and everyone in Inaba knows that he has a track record for making these things worse. Still: "Do you want to come over tomorrow and watch it with me?"

Souji's quiet on the other line, and this is where the doubt comes rushing in — the overwhelming feeling that Yosuke has said the wrong thing, that he's hurt Souji beyond repair even though he was trying to do the exact opposite. 

"A-And you could stay for dinner, too!" he rambles. "Ted would like it for sure, a-and—"

"Okay," Souji whispers on the other line.

"Great!" Yosuke says a little too loudly. "So... see you tomorrow, then?"

"Yeah," Souji whispers.

"And, uh, partner?" Yosuke swallows, and crosses his fingers in hopes that this won't wreck absolutely everything. "You... you can call me whenever. It doesn't matter how late it is."

Souji pauses again, and Yosuke has to fight back every instinct telling him to just take it back, laugh it off and pretend it never happened — but then: "Okay. Thank you, Yosuke."

Yosuke smiles, sighing in relief, and wonders how to break it to his parents that he might be bringing one more person to stay with them for a while. "Anytime, partner."


End file.
